When I was little and I was one of only three grandkids (now I’m one of, like, twenty-five, plus many great-grands), my Grandpa Splittstoser would give me, my sister, and our cousin Josh, fifty-cent pieces and we would snap his suspenders and run around the house, giggling.

My mom kept all those fifty-cent pieces in a big coffee can. ♡ We loved clinking our coins into the can and the sound it made when you shook it.

This coin brought back all those memories for me and I shared them with the kids (and maybe the bank lady, too). Then we went to the post office (Old-school errand day, I know!) and Sully asked, “Are you going to spend it, Mom?” “Yep!” I said. And explained that its just as fun to pass it along as it is to come across it. I don’t need to hold onto the coin in order to hold onto the memory. And the sweetness that it brought me that afternoon is lovely independent of whether or not I store it away.

My Grandpa died when I was pretty young. Only the three of us eldest cousins knew him. Sharing stories with my younger cousins, my kids, … the bank lady… that’s how we hold onto our most cherished.

Passing *things* along can be joyful! And this coin is worth just 50 cents. And stuff is just stuff. The stories of connection, character, and customs are the valuable pieces that we should keep and store in our hearts. And share with our loved ones. ♡

Susan Miller of KLOVE and Air1’s news network, The Closer Look, invited me to chat with her about our tiny house experience! I love that I had the opportunity to share on our favorite radio station! Too awesome.

I’m sorry I’m not able to embed the player right here, I tried!

Click this link: Tiny House Interview on KLOVE and you’ll find the interview under Homebuying 101. The tiny house topic starts at the 7 minute mark.

We are creating significantchange!So, THANK YOU!Thank you, thank you, thank you!
If you wrote the new code, thank you!
If you spoke at the conference, thank you!
If you spoke for Tiny Houses anywhere, thank you!

If you signed the petition, thank you!

If you blogged about Tiny Houses, thank you!

If you shared a Tiny House blog post, thank you!

If you opened your home to tours, thank you!

If you shared tiny house pictures, thank you!

If you wrote a tiny house book, thank you!

If you read a tiny house book thank you!

If you wrote an article, made a tour video, introduced Tiny Houses to your coworker, started a meet-up, went to a building class, organized an event, built a Tiny House, hosted a podcast, did an interview, offer a service or product, saved a pinterest pin, hosted a Tiny House on your property, made a documentary, took part in a reality show, donated supplies, offered labor help, taught a seminar, spent your time monitoring a facebook group, answered people’s questions, offered support and kindness on social media, donated to a Tiny House related fund, maintain a Tiny House hotel, if you, follow, read, dream, watch, click, plan, share, or support the Tiny House movement with your heart, thank you!

You have all contributed. Every contribution has proven significant and valuable. We have educated, dreamed, lived, shared, planned, helped, shown, guided, and spoken for our own movement.

We have proven that we can come together and create positive change!

For the dwellers, the builders, the future occupants, planners, and the land renters, the possibility of Tiny Houses becoming legal means acceptance, new opportunities, and freedom!

Come together. Join forces. Reach out.

One. Final. Push.
To take “raising awareness” to “certificate of occupancy!”
This is an urgent order! There is a deadline! Raise your voice! Your action is needed by November 8th!

Follow this link: https://tinyhousebuild.com/help-legalize-tiny-houses/ for very clear, concise instruction.
Your participation is crucial and I, personally, am so very thankful for you!

Hi Dave Ramsey! I appreciate that you’ve given your input on the Tiny House Movement! I’ve been anticipating your thoughts on tiny houses. My husband and I, and our two kids, live in a tiny house and I would like to respond as I think it’s a conversation that is worth our thorough consideration.

We downsized from a 2,000 square foot mortgage two years ago. Our kids were in preschool, my husband was a teacher and a grad school student, and I ran my own wedding photography business. We wanted to become a one-income family that home schools and has a travel budget (we value travel as an important part of our family’s education), among other goals such as financial freedom, of course! Our budget absolutely would not allow it. The student loans totaled more than the mortgage and financially, we were more lined up to become a three-income family!

With enormous prayer and reflection on our options we made huge changes to line up our lifestyle with our values.

I think you approached the Tiny House topic purely from a real estate investor’s perspective. We did not. I bet very few Tiny House Dwellers do. We feel we have made a great investment in our quality of life. Now we can follow the plans and guidance of God rather than the demands of our bills. We have made decisions that are more responsible and sustainable in terms of our finances, our education, our environment, our faith, and our happiness.

If we had instead invested in real estate with plans to sell during a great housing market economy we would have been taking a gamble. Our tiny home is paid for and is not a financial risk.

We could choose to purchase a traditional house in the future. Rather than selling our tiny house, keeping it would give us even more options! We could rent it out, arrange for it to be our vacation home, offer it to a friend or relative who needs housing for a period of time, or gift it to one of our children as their starter home.

Have you ever visited a Tiny House, Dave? Although I’m asking you to consider their potential purpose in light of their value declining, I think you might be swayed to see their potential to at least maintain their value! They are appealing to so many demographics and financial statuses! Also! Consider the uncertainty of our economy. If things get rocky, which house is going to be in higher demand: The Tiny or the MegaMansion?

If we chose to sell our tiny house, you are absolutely correct, like any home, there is potential for it to go down in value. But I would like to argue that, at such a cheap initial price, it is currently serving it’s purpose for us at a time when our quality of life with our young family is more important than square footage or equity.

I think that tiny houses offer an option unlike low-income housing. Financially stable housing. In a culture with such a dynamic variety of needs and desires I think, at the very least, we should not write-off tiny houses as a fad. We need to note the important role tiny houses are playing in people’s lives; they serve a great purpose in goal achievement and quality of living.

Despite their sustainability, truly affordable price tag, role in offering a way to more easily achieve goals, putting the American Dream within reach, tiny houses are still viewed as controversial and often even rejected outright in a culture where never-satisfied-consumerism and massive debt is the accepted norm and, further, even socially encouraged. I think this warrants our reflection and continued conversation.

When our Tiny House was just a dream, the dream included a deck that ran the full length of the house.

The dream trailed off there. I didn’t embellish, add color, or jot down measurements. It was like a blank canvas that I looked forward to painting once the dream came to life.

The reality that is now our full length deck, surrounded by whimsical steps going every-which-way, lined with an amazing view of the lake complete with the reflection of the clouds rolling by overhead, invites me to begin designing. The wind, birds, flowers, and waves create the perfect frame.

We are building memories and starting traditions outside. Most of my own favorite childhood memories take place outdoors and we are trying to create the same for our kids. Campfires, reading at the end of the dock, chatting with neighbors, and watering the garden are our current favorite activities.

The deck is where I hope we center more and most of our family traditions. I want our evening dinners at the table to include watching boats troll by …and pie and ice cream. I look forward to hosting friends, serving wine and cheese, and playing card games under twinkle lights. I hope the kids will always want to snuggled under quilts, squished together on big cushions on chilly mornings, drinking tea and watching the sun come up …spying on the critters’ morning activity.

My pinterest board is filled with inspration for bringing inside coziness to to the outside air. Think boho chic lounges [wouldn’t it be loverly: Arhaus sectionals!], colorful fabrics that turn the wind into a visual dance, earthy wood furniture that match the natural surroundings, and lights and candles that complement the moon and stars.

Having a living space that isn’t confined to four walls and changes with the weather isn’t what came to mind when we planned our Tiny House. But it’s a part of the lifestyle! Possibly the best part. Our minimalist home is surrounded by so much abundance!

Our outdoor space; we need to notice it, retreat to it, we need to realize its value. Because it is so valuable.

You can find me giving tips on living Tiny with kids on the Main Stage at 3:00 on Day 2! (Hello! You’ll already be there getting tips for your build from Deek! AND staying afterward to be inspired by Jewel Pearson!)

I’ll be at the same place soon after – at 5:30 – for the Family Panel Q&A!

On Sunday I’ll be on Stage Two being interviewed with the Lovely Macy Miller by the Tiny House Podcast crew!

Watch for the new book,Turning Tiny! It’s going to be available for purchase and you can snag author signatures! Wild, right? (ie: you might find my by the books!)

Otherwise, you’ll likely find me and mi familia in the Kids Corner! Which will be super fun. Tiny House Kids meeting other Tiny House Kids. Totally normal. I’m so excited!

No, we’re not bringing the house. That would have been So Much Fun! I might have a few other surprises though. And I’m told there are FIFTY Tiny Houses to TOUR!

I’m so excited to meet you and hear all about your Tiny House plans! <3 !!!

Snag tickets, come back and comment below, then meet me at the Jam and we’ll take pics together InRealLife!

More of everything!
We’ve been dwelling in our dwelling for almost two years and we have only good things to report.

We’re more content. More colorful. More outdoorsy. More rooted. More united. More adventurous. More homey. More established. More resourceful. More ridiculous. More creative. More experienced. More trusting. More delighted. More fulfilled.

That phrase makes us feel bound in, boxed in, limited. It makes us feel like we can only do the things that are allowed within a limited budget.

It has such a bummer tone. We need to turn our thinking around.

We don’t only live within our means, we get to!

Opportunity and adventure can come at any budget. A thriving, flourishing, booming, radical life can happen at any budget. Radiate goodness! Your pockets can be empty and you can still radiate life. I love saying that we live within our means because we really LIVE! within our means!

When we decided to take action and pursue a more adventurous lifestyle we checked our values before we checked our budget. The values we prioritized were funded and the ones on the bottom of the list were dropped.

2000 square feet of storage and things that add distance between us didn’t make the cut.

Once we rearranged our life to match our value system the budget followed. And it should! Who wants their budget ruling over them?! We are now much more in control. And we are on a much better path for reaching our goal of debt freedom.

It was a total shift and rearrangement of our life and it took time. It was so worth it. We experienced the kind of living within our means that was a struggle. Now we are proud to say that we LIVE within our means!

Or you may not. No matter. 🙂 These were the humble beginnings of our homeschooling Tiny House library.

Today we have many bookshelves and hundreds of books.

Many, many books are read in our house everyday. Especially in the winter! In the winter the books are our primary form of entertainment. In the summer, books are used for reference as we discover new things outside, and at our bedtime routine. Here are some of the shelves that we have added since moving into our Tiny House.

The catwalk is now lined in bookshelves. This picture actually shows off our first attempt. What is there now is straiter and stronger. Only small chapter books fit here without impeding on the space.

Bigger books can easily fit on this shelf! I think it’s 15 inches wide. Books here are easily within arms reach and completely out of the way! It has kind of a “walk the plank” vibe, wouldn’t you agree!?

The bathroom library! There is a ton of space above the SunMar Composting Toilet. It’s depth from the wall make offers the perfect space for bookshelves.

This is a pic taken after Sully made a little aroma therapy concoction but it shows off a little bit of the shelving Ryan built for our loft. The two shelves are the full 7 1/2 foot width of the house. 15 feet of bookshelf! I’ll work on a better picture.

These guys are surrounded by books so they read a lot! Pretty easy plan! It works!

1 month agoby blessthistinyhouseTonight we had a campfire and got the surprise treat of a fireworks show! What a beautiful evening! ✨ We think there must have been a wedding reception at the campground across the lake. We prayed for their marriage and ooh'ed and ahh'ed over their fireworks! #Campfire#Fireworks#BlessThis !